Cuba licks wounds after Gustav
2008-08-31 22:53
Havana - Hurricane Gustav left a swath of
devastation across Cuba's western province of Pinar del Rio and
the Isle of Youth, residents and eye-witnesses in the
communist-ruled island reported on Sunday.
No deaths had been reported as of Sunday afternoon,
however, a full day after the storm packing 230km/h winds crossed Cuba.
Gustav had already killed at least 86 people in the
Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.
"High tension towers were twisted and down, roofs blown off
entire towns, schools destroyed and in Palacios even the
baseball stadium's walls were gone," Reuters TV cameraman
Heriberto Rodriguez said.
Residents could be seen crying over the foundations of
their homes or wandering around aimlessly.
State television showed pictures of destroyed homes,
submerged factories and boats lifted from their moorings and
left in city streets.
The storm's 240km/h winds scattered trees and
telephone poles like toothpicks.
Without power
The 800 000 residents of Pinar
del Rio and the Isle of Youth remained without power on Sunday,
as did many of the more than three million residents of
adjoining Havana province and the capital.
Where Gustav's eye hit nothing stood. Up to 160km to the east in Matanza, wind gusts downed trees and damaged
buildings, telephone and electricity lines.
The city of Havana's streets were littered with branches,
shrubs, trees and light poles.
The Cuban weather service said one of its stations measured
a gust of 340km/h - the highest recorded to date.
The government reported some minor injuries. But hurricane
deaths are rare in Cuba, where evacuations are well-organised
and begin early.